Do You Think The iPod is a Waste of Money?

[WashuSaotome]

I'm going to keep this simple.

1) Look at the base prices for all (or most) iPod models.

2) Look at another MP3 player (more than one if you can) with the same amount of gigabytes.

3) Do the math. (Whatever amount of gigs devided by the price of the MP3 players.)

4) Vote on the poll.

And so, I must say... Yes. The iPod is nothing but a pretty case. A waste of money.

[Sharkyland]

Besides mp3, it can hold other things now. I think. Mp3 players are Mp3 players...

[Ketchup345]

On 2005-11-30 18:59, Sharkyland wrote:
Besides mp3, it can hold other things now. I think. Mp3 players are Mp3 players...

Almost every Hard Drive based MP3 player can store files of all types.

Price per Gig was part of what made me get a Dell DJ 30 Gig (30 Gigs for under $250; and from what I gather, insides from Creative).

I disagree with the part about "iPod ... pretty case" (another reason I didn't go with the iPod). But if the black iPods were immune to scratches, or were much more difficult to scratch I may agree with "pretty case."

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ketchup345 on 2005-11-30 19:10 ]</font>

[Dhylec]

iPod is what they say: "overrated, overhyped". I have seen or used smaller, cheaper & better mp3 players out there. I think it's the fad with brand names, you paid more than 30% for the name on the product alone. ;]

[Blitzkommando]

The fact that the newer iPods can also be used as backup storage, a JPEG viewer, is M4A compatable, and has limited movie capability it seems to be a fairly power-packed item. Personally, the iPod Mini and iPod Shuffle things are what I would consider as a waste of money. For nearly the same price you get at least 4 times the storage from the same company and the other features mentioned above, minus that pretty color case and slightly smaller size. I've had mine for about 6 months now and when the battery finally does go I'm going to have it sent off to one of the third party companies for one of the more powerful batteries and a larger disk drive. Sure that will cost a bit, but not nearly as much as an iPod with a similar sized drive or battery life, or even for another company's MP3 player for that matter.

However, that is not to say that I love the software involved. Personally, I don't care much for iTunes. But, it works, and it works fairly well and is decently stable. But if I am going to actually listen to the music at my computer I'll likely use WMP10 because of the additonal features, such as the SRS WOW effects. Plus, I grew up on WMP4 and have just been using the newer versions since and I find WMP10 to have all the features I need and want with a stable environment and great support.

The only thing that I find as somewhat disappointing about iPods is the lack of OGG compatability. But really, that is just a couple clicks away in GoldWave and I have it converted to MP3. And, I also have to consider the vast ammounts of third party products that are available to use with the iPods as well. For me, while I do see it as a bit overpriced, the only products that are lower price for similar features seem to be that way for a reason. Afterall, if a product can stand up to the wear and tear of being on display for a year then it certainly should be able to withstand what little wear I may bring to it.

[Ketchup345]

On 2005-11-30 19:18, Norvekh wrote:
The only thing that I find as somewhat disappointing about iPods is the lack of OGG compatability. But really, that is just a couple clicks away in GoldWave and I have it converted to MP3. And, I also have to consider the vast ammounts of third party products that are available to use with the iPods as well. For me, while I do see it as a bit overpriced, the only products that are lower price for similar features seem to be that way for a reason. Afterall, if a product can stand up to the wear and tear of being on display for a year then it certainly should be able to withstand what little wear I may bring to it.

There are some MP3 players that do have OGG support (though I'm not sure on their max capacity.

Question:
What accessories do most people buy that can't be found for other players?
Play over radio: Belkin has one that works with all players that have the small headphone jack
Cases/Belt Clips: Most players have several of these available
Radio: Some companies do have a FM radio attachment or built in


What would be reasons for lower prices? Some of the lower priced players are very good quality and can take a very heavy beating (and they are harder to show signs of wear).


The price of the new iPods actually make them equal to the Dell (when the Dell is not on sale) if you only care about music.

Also, am I the only one who finds iPods to actally be either difficult or annoying to use? Why is there no dedicated power button and volume controls?

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ketchup345 on 2005-11-30 19:39 ]</font>

[Blitzkommando]

I have one of the large speaker/clock combination devices that I recieved as a gift. As it doubles as a charging station it makes for a nice stand and has very good sound to it.

The problem with other brand's players isn't so much that they don't have additional devices such as carrying cases but that the selection is far more limited. I can go down to Target and find at least 5 different types of carrying cases for the basic iPod, everything from plastic, to metal, to leather with multiple ways of attaching it to one's person.

And yes, there are MP3 players that have OGG support, however, I found them to be lacking in at least one area for each of them that I did not find acceptable. Whether it be the battery life per charge, the size of the player, or just the overall quality of the player. I did find one online that seemed to have all of these, but it was only in testing stages and would've cost more than the iPod.

I've used a Rio player, and while it is a nice player, the loading times were unacceptable to me. It had decent size storage for the size of the player (Smaller than the palm of my hand and 5GB) but because it uses a lower power, lower RPM harddrive the loading times were about 3-4 times that of my iPod.

I also used MP3 CD players for a couple years, and they work fine for a while. Then my music collection really grew (mainly because I found a gigantic collection of CDs hidden away in our entertainment center) and I wanted to be able to have a greater variety of songs with me but keeping the quality high enough for me to enjoy them. And, for people who have smaller collections of music, or don't mind switching CDs a CD MP3 player is very cheap and very easy to keep up.

As for the controls for the iPod, for me personally, I like them. I had a few problems when I first had the player, while I was learning the controls, but within a day or two I had the controls down pat. I'm not saying that everyone likes the controls and I'm not saying everyone should, but I will admit it takes a few minutes longer to learn the controls than with other players. As with any method of control, there are going to be people that hate it, and people that love it. If someone finds using, say a Rio, easier then far be it from me to attack them for it. And if someone finds the iPod controls easy, then that's great too.

[EphekZ]

It depends on what're looking for if you're looking for music player then yes Ipods(well new ones) are a waste.but if not then well good price I guess.

but if you just want music then go with a dell dj(like ketchup said) 30 gig for around 250.way better price.

[Dek]

Seeing that I do plan to buy a music player with more space (i.e. more than 1GB http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif ), I think I would put my two cents into this situation...

Do I think the iPod is a waste of money? To put it bluntly, no...

To expand on my answer, I would say this depends on which one you choose. While Norv already said this (and I do agree with him on this), other models of the iPod (such as the Nano and the Shuffle) are definatly not worth the (up to) $250 that they cost...

If there is any one thing I have against the Shuffle, it has to be the fact that there is no display. Now as far as listening to music goes, it isn't such a problem for me because I love all of my songs. However, should an error come up, all that I have to identify that there is an error is a light that flashes green and orange. Personally, I would like to know exactly WHAT the error is, such as a corrupted file within the playlist or corrupted software, rather than having it pointing out the obvious.

As far as the Nano goes, damn do I have a lot to say http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

The most obvious complaint would be the pricing. They dumbed it from 4/6 GB in a hard drive going at $200/$250 to 2/4 GB in Flash Memory going at $200/$250. Sure, it's great that it has all of the features that the 4th generation iPods had, but that would be quite contradicting since the ability to hold photos conflicts with the fact that you have a 2GB machine http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_disapprove.gif

The only thing that is worse about the Nano is that, just like the Shuffle, I feel like I'm going to break it at any moment...

So now let's go to the 5th Generation iPod. Has the ability to hold music, movies, photos, and files that you need to transfer. The smart thing that Apple did with this was they upgraded from 20GB to 30GB as far as the smaller unit goes. As far as the bigger unit...well...60 GB is still a good amount, right? http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

If there is any one thing I do applaud Apple for doing, it's giving discounts on many products to those registered in a higher education facility (aka, college). While some of the discounts might not be the best (12" iBook is only $50 off http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_disapprove.gif ), The 30GB iPod does get a nice (in my opinion of course) price drop of $30 (from $299 to $269).

However, I do think that other models of MP3 players (such as those from Creative and Sandisk) are still worth using. All I hope is they plan to play AAC files some day... http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

my 2 cents

[Skorpius]

I feel that all Mp3 players are a waste of money. I still use CDs.

[HUnewearl_Meira]

On 2005-11-30 22:57, Skorpius wrote:
I feel that all Mp3 players are a waste of money. I still use CDs.



On the other hand, an MP3 player gives you more capacity for music without having to physically change your medium when you want to listen to something else. It provides greater ability to create a compilation without the hassle of burning a new CD, thus also reducing waste. If that weren't enough, MP3 also aren't likely to have a problem with skipping. If you MP3 player does have a problem with skipping, then it's time to check your warantee.

Altogether, I'd say that there are a lot of products out there that do what the iPod does, without requiring you to use special software to transfer files. If I got a USB Flash drive that required me to use special software to write to it, I would take it back to where I bought it and get my money back.

[geewj]

On 2005-11-30 22:57, Skorpius wrote:
I feel that all Mp3 players are a waste of money. I still use CDs.



I don't know. Having over 24 hours worth of music in your pocket is pretty nice. Plus you don't need to worry about scratches and skipping and all that jazz.

It's quick, easy, and better quality.

[Derek0660]

The new iPod (30GB) that can play video and view pics is available for $299 USD.
Alot better than the nano, which is 2GB for $199 USD.
Even though the nano is sweet-looking http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Saiffy]

Altogether, I'd say that there are a lot of products out there that do what the iPod does, without requiring you to use special software to transfer files. If I got a USB Flash drive that required me to use special software to write to it, I would take it back to where I bought it and get my money back.
That's the biggest problem I have with iPods, sure, if it gets the job done, and you like how it does it, then by all means buy one. But I'd rather just copy and paste, rather than some fancy stuff.

That and, I don't need a nice looking interface while listening to music, nor do I need to be able to view pictures while walking around, videos I can understand, but I just don't see the point in picture viewing software being all that special.(Completely opionated paragraph, cause I hate iPods http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif)

[Skorpius]

$15 for a CD player; $10 for a pack of blank CDs versus average cost of $75 for a player. Having 80 minutes of music is enough for whatever you're doing, I'm not sure why you'd need 24 hours.

I'm more for cost efficiency.

[Neith]

Most albums I find that I'll love about half the songs, and be not as keen on the rest. Having an mp3 player would allow me to customize the exact songs I want.

As for the iPod debate- from what I've seen, they're horribly overpriced, compared to Creative/Sony etc..

[Oni140]

Waaaste!! Big time ><

iPods are horribly priced high, and you need to pay for their songs and even cases.

CD Players can easily play CD or burned ones, and they come in a variety of skins. They are a lot cheaper too.

So why get an iPod when you can burn a CD with your favorite songs on it ><

[Ketchup345]

On 2005-12-01 14:17, Oni140 wrote:
Waaaste!! Big time ><

iPods are horribly priced high, and you need to pay for their songs and even cases.

CD Players can easily play CD or burned ones, and they come in a variety of skins. They are a lot cheaper too.

So why get an iPod when you can burn a CD with your favorite songs on it ><

Because when you're walking around campus and want to listen to Pink Floyd then Led Zeppelin then Rush when you don't have a CD prepared with the songs you want to listen to; you'd have to switch between several CDs. Or when you actually have about 4 hours when you don't have access to your CD collection? I know I have room in my pocket for a HDD based MP3 player, but I am fairly sure I would not have enough pockets large enough to hold my school supplies and CD collection.

You don't need to buy iPod songs from iTunes, as you can use MP3s already on your computer. But iPod do force you to use iTunes to buy songs from if you purchase from online music stores (since almost every other company uses a format that iPods are not compatable with).

Also, cases are optional, you could just use your pocket (but do read up on how eaily your player scratches, some can become unreadable qickly {such as some early iPod Nanos} and some can last for ages).


And Norv:
You are the only person I know of that has some kind of home system for their iPod. While you may like abd use many of the extra accessories; I doubt many people will find a use for all but a small handul.


And another question:
Who here would actually use the iPod to watch videos? The screen is small, and in some areas it would be dangers to have the player out for that long of a time period.

[HUnewearl_Meira]

On 2005-12-01 13:31, Saiffy wrote:
That and, I don't need a nice looking interface while listening to music, nor do I need to be able to view pictures while walking around, videos I can understand, but I just don't see the point in picture viewing software being all that special.(Completely opionated paragraph, cause I hate iPods http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif)



Having a collection of rather amusing (if not occasionally offensive) images, I can totally see why you might want to be able to display pictures at any given time, and the ability to play videos isn't a bad idea, either. Quite honestly, I can absolutely comprehend the concept of watching fansubbed anime on a small, portable device while waiting, say, at a tire shop while your vehicle's tires are being replaced-- which can be quite a vigorously dull wait, mind you.

My thought on all this though, is that by the time you've incorporated all of this into a small, handheld device, you may just as well buy a palmtop computer so you can have a bit more than multimedia available to you. I've recently discovered that dell.com makes this sort of thing really quite affordable, and I must say that I have plans to acquire such a thing, in hopes that it'll give me a little freedom to get some more writing done while I'm waiting for my wife to get off work.

[Skorpius]

Great thing about CD players, nowadays, is that most come equipped with a 60 second anti skip protection system, and can read Mp3s off of CD-RWs. Most CD-RWs have a 700MB/80min limit, which makes for normal sized audio CDs (due to the 80 minute limit). However, if you just write Mp3s to it, you can store 700MBs of music on one CD.

That's about 5 (or more) albums worth of music onto one CD-RW, and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than an Mp3 player.

[Hrigg]

iPod nano's and shuffles are wastes of money IMO. The Nano is too small in size, and waaaaay to expensive. The Shuffle... lol. No display. Half a gig for 100 bucks. Just funny.

iPod Color (without video) is also a waste of money. There's no real need to go around and have pictures on your mp3 player. My friend has one and laughs at me because his is newer and all that dumb shit. What's funny is he doesn't use the picture thing (which I would use for album art and stuff). Also, it doesn't matter if you have color on your iPod, because IMO, my music is so much better than his. http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

The iPod video, I have to admit, is pretty spiffy. If I could get one I would, but I'm perfectly happy with my colorless iPod which still pwnz.

Yeah, >_>

[tbmes11]

It comes down to what is more important to you. The iPod is the best selling Mp3 player out there because of their ID design, easy to use software, and have always been first to market with add-on stuff like photo display, video playback, etc. Their price is higher because of it.

[rena-ko]

On 2005-12-01 19:13, Skorpius wrote:
Great thing about CD players, nowadays, is that most come equipped with a 60 second anti skip protection system, and can read Mp3s off of CD-RWs. Most CD-RWs have a 700MB/80min limit, which makes for normal sized audio CDs (due to the 80 minute limit). However, if you just write Mp3s to it, you can store 700MBs of music on one CD.

That's about 5 (or more) albums worth of music onto one CD-RW, and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than an Mp3 player.



good point.
i still prefer my MD-player - its easy on the batteries and its also way smaller than a cd player.

[Skett]

On 2005-12-01 19:33, Hrigg wrote:
iPod nano's and shuffles are wastes of money IMO. The Nano is too small in size, and waaaaay to expensive. The Shuffle... lol. No display. Half a gig for 100 bucks. Just funny.


I think you forgot the purpose of a portable music player. Unless you have big fingers and can't scroll through stuff, what's the problem with it being small?

[Dek]

On 2005-12-02 17:26, Skett wrote:


On 2005-12-01 19:33, Hrigg wrote:
iPod nano's and shuffles are wastes of money IMO. The Nano is too small in size, and waaaaay to expensive. The Shuffle... lol. No display. Half a gig for 100 bucks. Just funny.


I think you forgot the purpose of a portable music player. Unless you have big fingers and can't scroll through stuff, what's the problem with it being small?


There is two ways of classifying size these days...

1. Height/Width/Length
2. Capacity a flash drive/hard drive can hold

Compare the different iPod together and you can see that the Nano and Shuffle are much smaller in size (hard drive size) and aren't worth the money that they are being priced at.

[Larian]

HELL NO!!!

I love my iPod to death...I take it everywhere with me and I believe it has paid for itself onceover already...Mine is really scratched up now...but that is a sign that I use it and that I love it. Sure you can find mp3 players out there for cheeper...but are they good quality and how long will they last? Or do they have a kick ass warenty that will replace a broken one for nothing? Thats what I thought. I just wish I held out for the one with video. But I think all I have to do is install the software and it should work fine...Now I get to watch my Anime and Listen to it! =D

I actually had a friend who wrote part of his masters thesis on iPods...In that section he compared it to the modern day Katana. Pretty much most people were just buying them as a status symbol...I honestly think there is more to it than that though. =/

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Larian on 2005-12-02 22:43 ]</font>

[Ketchup345]

On 2005-12-02 22:39, Larian wrote:
HELL NO!!!

I love my iPod to death...I take it everywhere with me and I believe it has paid for itself onceover already...Mine is really scratched up now...but that is a sign that I use it and that I love it. Sure you can find mp3 players out there for cheeper...but are they good quality and how long will they last? Or do they have a kick ass warenty that will replace a broken one for nothing? Thats what I thought. I just wish I held out for the one with video. But I think all I have to do is install the software and it should work fine...Now I get to watch my Anime and Listen to it! =D

I actually had a friend who wrote part of his masters thesis on iPods...In that section he compared it to the modern day Katana. Pretty much most people were just buying them as a status symbol...I honestly think there is more to it than that though. =/

I know some people using first generation Dells still.
Warranty:
The Dells have a standard 1 year warranty and optional 2 year warranty. Also there is an option for aciident coverage that should cover everything that happes to it. I'm sure some other larger vendors also have long warranties available.

Most MP3 players can resist scatches much longer than iPods. It is the material's fault. Apple even had to change the way the Nanos were built because of them scratching to a point that was unusable within a very short period of time.

Many people are buying iPods for style. There are often better options for the majority of people (I know very few people who buy any accessories and who would use it to watch video). They don't do research to look for other products that are equivalent or the same. They could get exactly what they want (portable music player) for a better memory to price ratio if they realize what they really want (assuming they want a good music player that does its job, not just a status symbol) and do research for products that fit what they need.